intention movement The first stage in a recognized sequence of behaviour; by itself it indicates to an observer the intention of an animal to perform the full sequence. For example, the swimming of a stickleback low over a small area of a sandy river bed during the breeding season may be an intention movement that heralds the digging of a pit and the building of a nest. (This is thought to originate in conflict between aggression between male and female and nest-building, which has become ritualized.)

intention movement The first stage in a recognized sequence of behaviour; by itself it indicates to an observer the intention of an animal to perform the full sequence. For example, the swimming of a stickleback low over a small area of a sandy river bed during the breeding season may be an intention movement that heralds the digging of a pit and the building of a nest.